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Thom's blog
Are humans destroying their own nest?
 Around 15,000 years ago - there weren't any cities in North America. Instead the continent was covered with grassland and forest land. And according to new research - there was a lot more poop from large animals all around. And that poop nourished life on Earth. New research from researchers at the University of Vermont shows that feces from animals are essential in moving nutrients up the food chain. The research was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - and it points to a wide array of animals involved in the nutrient cycle - including whales - seabirds - animals that graze on land - and large predators. The study is more than just a fun reason to talk scatological, though - it's also a dire warning about how human activities are leading to an impending breakdown of our planet's food web and nutrient cycles. If we go back 15,000 years - the North American continent was home to mammoths and mastodons - elk and moose - and large carnivores like the saber tooth cat and the dire wolf. All of these animals acted as a "distribution pump" with their feces - transporting nutrients from "hot spots" to other places. And the distribution of nutrients works two ways - both up through the food chain biologically - and across the continent geographically. Take my friend Stuart Pimm's example of a discovering how bear poop is essential to forest health in the Pacific Northwest. Forests in the Pacific Northwest were lacking iodide in their soil - which trees in that area need to survive. It was already interesting that the trees required iodide - which comes from the ocean - when the forests were very clearly inland. But even more interesting was the fact that the forests suddenly started growing back - and that the soil was getting more and more iodide. So what happened? |
Tonight on The Big Picture on RT TV at 7pm and 10pm... Hey Feds...Keep Your Hands Off My Medical Pot (check your local listings for stations or stream at RT or Free Speech TV, and catch past shows on Youtube)
 Be sure to check out our newest video: RESTORATION - narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio & Thom Hartmann, directed by Leila Conners / Visit GreenWorldRising.org to check out all the videos: CARBON, LAST HOURS & GREEN WORLD RISING - narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio & Thom Hartmann, directed by Leila Conners
Big Picture Politics Panel:
- Gianno Caldwell, Caldwell Strategic Consulting 
- Alex Lawson, Social Security Works
- Neil McCabe, One America News
Best of the Rest: Argentina Votes
- Greg Palast, Billionaires & Ballot Bandits/Vultures and Vote Rustlers
PLUS, Hey Feds...Keep Your Hands Off My Medical Pot
- Judge Jim Gray, Superior Court Judge (ret'd)/Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (L.E.A.P.)
Daily Take: Are Humans Destroying Their Own Nest? |
Tuesday's Daily Stack 
Hour Three: China - U.S. flash point? Science and green news |
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Wednesday on The Thom Hartmann Program, 12-3pm ET
Alex Lawson of Social Security Works will be here to answer your questions about how Social Security works.
Plus, the real reason everyone should care about the next Speaker? I'll be debating with Gayle Trotter of the Independent Women's Forum.
And, the best of the rest of the news along with your calls right here on...
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One of my favorite wines is CHATEAU VERONIQUE 2011 - The wine that started the Organic Wine Company. Subtle and sophisticated, this wine will complement any table.
Thom
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